title: Is there more than one proctitis syndrome? A revisitation using data from the TROG 96.01 trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to categorize longitudinal radiation-induced rectal toxicity data obtained from men participating in a randomised controlled trial for locally advanced prostate cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from self-assessed questionnaires of rectal symptoms and clinician recorded remedial interventions were collected during the TROG 96.01 trial. In this trial, volunteers were randomised to radiation with or without neoadjuvant androgen deprivation. Characterization of longitudinal variations in symptom intensity was achieved using prevalence data. An integrated visualization and clustering approach based on memetic algorithms was used to define the compositions of symptom clusters occurring before, during and after radiation. The utility of the CTC grading system as a means of identifying specific injury profiles was evaluated using concordance analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven well-defined clusters of rectal symptoms were present prior to treatment, 25 were seen immediately following radiation and 7 at years 1, 2 and 3 following radiation. CTC grading did not concord with the degree of rectal 'distress' and 'problems' at all time points. Concordance was not improved by adding urgency to the CTC scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CTC scale has serious shortcomings. A powerful new technique for non-hierarchical clustering may contribute to the categorization of rectal toxicity data for genomic profiling studies and detailed patho-physiological studies.
authors.affiliation: Calvary Mater Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capp
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inostroza-Ponta
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bill
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moscato
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lamb
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: North
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poulsen
authors.forename: Nigel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Spry
authors.forename: Keen-Hun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wynne
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duchesne
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steigler
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Denham
mesh_terms: D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D011349:Proctitis / Q000209:etiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists